Half-Brother Review

Ben Tomlin is a regular 13 year-old boy. It is the 1970’s and he has just moved to Victoria, BC with his parents and newborn brother, Zan. There’s just one difference between his family and others- Zan is a chimpanzee.

Ben’s parents are scientists, and for their latest project, they decided to adopt a baby chimpanzee. They would raise it as a human and teach it sign language. At first Ben is uncomfortable around Zan and hesitant to call him his brother, but Zan quickly grows on him. They have fun communicating with sign language and playing. Meanwhile, Ben is also starting at a new school with new teachers, friends, and girls. He must manage a regular teen’s life as well as be a loving, supporting and caring brother, teacher and playmate for Zan. Zan is growing older and although he has been raised identically to a human child, his chimpanzeesinstincts are still a prominent feature. He becomes rambunctious and even dangerous. The family faces important decisions about the family and the future of “Project Zan”. But when they don’t receive an important grant, the future of Zan seems doomed. After all, Project Zan is really just an experiment, and what happens when the experiment is over?

Ben’s father shows no fatherly love towards Zan. He treats him like a scientific specimen and loses the faith that Zan can learn sign language, when he has learned more language than a human baby his age would have. Ben’s father implements techniques that are controversial among the family and team of students, who help care for and teach Zan. One of those techniques is the use of a “Learning Chair”, which Zan and Ben both hate. I sympathized with Zan and Ben as I read their struggles with the chair and father. The book was very well-written and I became angry with some of the characters, specifically Ben’s father.

I learned a lot about animal testing and whether wild/exotic animals should be kept as pets. It prompted me to reconsider my own beliefs on these issues. I was outraged at the poor conditions some animals are kept in. This book was excellently written, except I felt the back cover gave away too much of the book. I also thought the real ‘core’ problem that was in the climax came a bit late. But other than that it was thought-provoking, engrossing, and very descriptive of the feelings the characters experienced. I felt like I was really there with Zan, and was sad when the book ended, because I wouldn’t get to ‘see’ Zan anymore! I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone who likes a good, deep read.

I submitted this review to a contest to win a book!